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Return with mettle
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Dent, Fish came home from their Olympic experience with a renewed confidence and
focus that was evident in their first-round victories

BY ARTHUR STAPLE
STAFF WRITER

August 31, 2004

Plenty of the biggest names in men's tennis went to Athens in search of a medal,
but they ended up soaking in the Olympic atmosphere rather than participating in
a ceremony.

Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent went for the experience of being an Olympian. Fish
came within a set of a gold medal, and Dent came within a few points of a
bronze. Where their good friend and fellow American Olympian Andy Roddick, as
well as world No. 1 Roger Federer, may have viewed the tennis portion of the
Olympics as a distraction to their preparation for the U.S. Open, Fish and Dent
have come into Flushing Meadows with confidence that shone through in breezy
first-round wins for both yesterday.

"I've never had more confidence with my game," said Fish, the No. 26 seed, who
swept past David Ferrer, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. "I feel like I've finally figured out
how I need to play. I feel like I went over there and really found a game plan."

Fish roomed with Roddick in the athletes' village at the Olympics and the two
made some famous friends -- wrestler Rulon Gardner "told me the snowmobile story
four times, and he showed me his toe, and I didn't want to see it," Fish said.
But this was more than just a chance to take pictures and hang with guys like
Michael Phelps and his serious collection of hardware.

Fish had been in the midst of a very mediocre season -- he reached one final, in
Germany in June, and won one match between the Australian and Wimbledon,
dropping his career record in Grand Slams to an ugly 8-11 -- when the Olympics
came along. He plays Davis Cup whenever asked, and perhaps where the Olympic
tournament was not good timing for the big boys like Federer, who ousted Alberto
Costa, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4, in his first round match, it was perfect for the patriotic
Fish.

Fish said his serve was not on for much of the event, but he kept points short
against superior baseliners like Juan Carlos Ferrero and eventual bronze
medallist Fernando Gonzalez. In the gold-medal match, Fish went up two sets to
one on Chile's Nicolas Massu but could not close out the double gold-medal
winner. "A lot of people have been asking me, 'What would you rather do, win a
gold medal or a Grand Slam?'" Fish said. "I would prefer a gold medal around my
neck with the National Anthem playing. I think that would be the ultimate in
sports for me."

Yesterday, he was still not serving well (47 percent on first serves), but he
forced the pace and, as he did in Athens, came to the net often on Ferrer's
second serve.

Dent, the No. 21 seed, had an easier day, defeating fan favorite Younes El
Aynaoui, 6-1, 2-1, when El Aynaoui had to retire with a foot injury. Dent missed
out on a medal in Athens with a three-set loss to Gonzalez, 16-14 in the third
set. He still felt a big boost of confidence in his game after a similarly
mediocre season to Fish -- Dent reached the third round in Australia and at
Wimbledon, losing to Roddick both times, but hasn't reached a final this year.

"I think in that week [in Athens] I got back to where I was a year ago around
this time, when I wasn't really too concerned about how I was executing my game
. . . but just really focused mentally on the court," said the big-serving Dent,
who reached the fourth round here last year but had to retire with a hamstring
injury against Andre Agassi.

"If I shank one over the stadium, I don't let it bother me. If I take care of my
head first, then I think my game will follow."

Copyright (c) 2004, Newsday, Inc.

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